Who Can Stand the Great Tribulation? Revelation 7 Rev. Min J. Chung (Lord s Day Service, Sunday, April 22, 2018) Revelation 7 1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed, 12,000 from the tribe of Reuben, 12,000 from the tribe of Gad, 6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher, 12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali, 12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh, 7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon, 12,000 from the tribe of Levi, 12,000 from the tribe of Issachar, 8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun, 12,000 from the tribe of Joseph, 12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen. 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come? 14 I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Introduction In Revelation 6, Jesus opened the scroll by taking off one seal at a time to unravel redemptive history. In those days, ancient documents were tied, and a lump of clay was pressed over the knots. After that, the sender would stamp the clay with a signet ring to authenticate and protect its content. Only those who could carry out the contents of the document had the authority to take off the seals. Revelation 6 and 7 are two sides of the same play. Revelation 6 is about the judgment of God being poured out to show His justice and lead to repentance. It shows how we will suffer in this world. Revelation 7 is about God protecting His people, and shows how we will conquer by His grace. We need to look at tribulation not with the eyes of the world but with the eyes of the Word of God. We can be courageous in the midst of tribulation and suffering, showing Jesus to others by His grace. Revelation 6 and 7 talk about tribulation through different lenses. Matthew 24 talks about a similar time period. In the Bible, the term last days does not mean the time period immediately before the return of Christ. In the New Testament, the last days means the whole period between the first and second coming of Christ. -Matthew 24:8 - All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. The phrase birth pains implies that there will be cyclical pain that comes and goes, becoming more frequent and intense. The most intense suffering and tribulation will come right before the coming of Christ, followed by the birth of the kingdom of God. We need to understand the cyclical growth of the intensity of pain between the first and second coming of Christ. Tribulations will become greater and more frequent. Revelation 7 answers a question from the end of Revelation 6: who can stand? The ones who are in Jesus Christ. There are two visions in this chapter. Verses 1-8 are a vision that happens before Revelation 6, and verses 9-17 are a vision that happens after Revelation 6 to encourage us. I. The characteristic of the servants of God Sealed [1-3] This passage begins with the phrase After this, which does not necessarily mean chronological order. Rather, John is talking about the sequence of his visions. After seeing one vision, he sees another. The four corners of the earth mentioned in verse 1 are east, west, north, and south, which collectively represent the whole world. Four angels are holding back the four winds of the earth, which are the destructive agents of God. These angels are withholding them because in verse 2, another angel is commanding them to do so. Just as there were seals on the scroll, there is a seal in this angel s hand,
and he tells them to withhold the destruction until the seal is given to the people. This new seal in Revelation 7 results in the name of the Lord being stamped on the forehead of His followers. -Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. They are sealed on the forehead because the head is the place of authority, and in the context of the Bible, this means that we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. Jesus has authority over our lives. As God seals us, He implants His name on us, and the Holy Spirit is given to us. -2 Corinthians 1:22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, His name is implanted in us in such a way that we now bear the name of Christ and are adopted in Christ. Spiritual resurrection takes place, and through the Holy Spirit, He pours His grace upon us. He sealed us by His Spirit in that way. We are of God. God owns us, and He is protecting us. -2 Timothy 2:19 But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: The Lord knows those who are his, and, Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity. When we bear the name of God, it means that we are of God. Often, we want to know who we are, but it is more important to know whose we are. We are of God, and our identity is in Jesus Christ. There will be all kinds of suffering in our lives, but as servants of God, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. His name is implanted in us, and we will be able to go through hardships in our lives. II. The number of the servants of God 144,000 [4-8] Some people take this passage literally and believe that only 144,000 people are saved, but you can see from context that this is a symbolic number. Others think that this is only the number of biological Israelites, but it is really about spiritual Israelites. Verse 9 mentions a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. This is not just the national Israelites but international Israelites who put their faith in Jesus Christ. Thus, we can see that 144,000 is not a literal count of the number of Israelites. Verse 4 says that this number was totaled from every tribe of the sons of Israel, but Dan is omitted (due to idolatry and spiritual reasons) and Manasseh is included. Also, Reuben is the oldest brother, so he should have been counted first, but Judah is mentioned first because Jesus Christ comes from the line of Judah. This is a symbolic picture of the spiritual priority of Jesus Christ. If you understand the Hebrew number system and their way of counting people, you can also understand that 144,000 is the number of spiritual Jews. 144 is 12 x 12. There are 24 elders. 12 elders represent the 12 tribes of the Israelites and the Old Testament saints.
Then there are the 12 apostles from the New Testament, which make up the second half of the 24 elders. Since 12 x 12 is 144, this is a comprehensive picture of the Old Testament and New Testament believers. Generally, 1,000 means numerous, so 144,000 means that there are so many believers that we cannot count them all. For example, the number 12,000 appears in Revelation 21 when they are talking about the size of heaven. 12 is the number that is complete, and 1,000 means huge. Heaven will not have exactly 12,000 people, but 12,000 means that it is complete and that many people, all servants of God, will be there. Verses 1-8 show what happens before the wrath comes in Revelation 6. In the midst of suffering and tribulation, God will strengthen and empower you through it. Verses 9-17 show what happens after the tribulation you re going to remain faithful. Jesus shows two visions to picture what happens before and after Revelation 6 to encourage believers to face hardships with courage. III. The scope and the focus of the servants of God [9-12] A. The scope [9] A great multitude in verse 9 refers to the 144,000 people. They are described in four ways (from every nation, tribe, people, languages) to comprehensively picture those who the gospel will reach. 144,000 is a symbolic number of all believers in history (quantity), and they are from every nation, tribe, people, and languages (quality). They are standing before the throne and wearing white robes with palm branches, which symbolize the victory of these people. B. The focus [10-12] They are worshipping and praising God with a loud voice. They are loud not because God has difficulty hearing but because they are so amazed that they cannot help but to express themselves with every faculty of their being. They are praising God who sits on the throne, mentioned in Revelation 4, and the Lamb, mentioned in Revelation 5. Verse 12 lists seven attributes, which express complete and perfect praise. Salvation of people is important, but it is not the goal. Salvation of souls is the means. After hearts receive Christ and are sealed by the Holy Spirit, what do people do? They praise God. And why do they need to grow? So that they can praise God more. The end goal of everything is the glory of God. If the salvation of man is our goal, we are anthropocentric in our perspective. We need to have a theocentric perspective of missions. This passage is saying that Jesus saves, Jesus wins, and Jesus is to be worshipped and honored. All praise that exists in this world belongs to our God. Jesus is to be praised in us and through us. IV. The identity and the experiences of the servants of God [13-17] A. Their identity [13-14] In verse 13, one of the elders asks who they are (identity) and where they came from (experience). The elder already knows the answer, so John replies, Sir, you know.
The elder first talks about their experience they are the ones overcame. He then talks about their identity, which is perhaps the reason why they were able to overcome the great tribulation. They washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Though their robes are washed in red blood, they are made white. This represents their sins being washed, which is their identity. They put their faith in Jesus Christ, and that is why they were able to overcome their tribulations in life. What is the great tribulation? This phrase is used many times in Scripture. -Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. Remember, there will be increasing pain between the first and second coming of Christ, but this verse seems to point to a specific, intense period of time that will come right before the second coming of Christ. -Revelation 2:22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, This verse seems to imply that from the first century on, we have been experiencing some sort of great tribulation. As of now, my view on the great tribulation is that it is between the first and second coming of Christ, but there will times when it is more intense than others. Great tribulation can refer to a specific period of hardship or the entire time between the first and second coming of Christ. A similar example is the usage of the phrase antichrist. Just like the great tribulation, some people believe that in the end, the antichrist is coming. I agree that a personification of Satan will come, but there are a lot of little antichrists coming before that as well. -1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. the last hour is that final period between the first and second coming of Christ, and the antichrist is some kind of figure that is strong and against Christ. As I mentioned, hardship will come, and it will become increasingly more intense. The antichrist will continuously deceive the world, and we know that in some forms, it already has. -1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. We will face all kinds of tribulation, but there will probably be something more intense right before the return of Christ and final birth of the kingdom of God. B. Their reward [15-17]
As we live between the first and second coming of Christ, we will go through suffering, but we need to remain faithful. As we do that, there is an incredible reward. -Isaiah 49:10 they shall not hunger or thirst, neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them, for he who has pity on them will lead them, and by springs of water will guide them. 1. They will receive access to the throne of God Access to the throne of God means that there will be praise and joyful worship. There will be incredible joy in the presence of God. 2. They will serve Him We will become holy priests, serving and worshipping Him. Some of you might just want to rest and have fun, but without your sinful nature, serving the Lord will be the most exciting and joyful thing you can do. Just as you have sinful addictions, your addiction will be serving Christ. 3. They will be sheltered with His presence God will dwell with us. We are His dwelling place, and He will be with us forever. 4. They will hunger and thirst no more We will be fed by the living water and the body of Jesus Christ. We will still want to eat, but we will hunger and thirst no more because we will always be satisfied with Him. 5. They will be protected Verse 16 uses Exodus language that alludes to the Israelites going through the desert to the Promised Land. As we are escaping the slavery of sin to be free from our sinful nature, we will be protected from the scorching heat and difficulties that will come. 6. They will be guided The Shepherd will guide us to the springs of living water, similar to Psalm 23. Using the staff and the rod of His Word, He will lead us through the valley of shadow of death, which is just temporary. He will ultimately lead us to the green pasture, springs of living water, and eternal blessedness. 7. They will be rewarded We will be rewarded with comfort and acknowledgement. Just as it says in 1 Corinthians 13, we will know Him, and He will know us. God will wipe away every tear from our eyes. I m sure there are a lot more rewards in heaven we re probably just scratching the surface. Tribulation is largely about the judgment of evil, as in Revelation 6, but it is also about the purification of His people in Revelation
7. He s going to use His servants to give blessings to the world so that all those who do not know Christ can see Him through us. V. The implications for the servants of God A. We are sealed and protected forever -Revelation 7:3 saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. One angel tells the four other angels not to release the suffering until they have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. That means that we will not face tribulation without the help of the Holy Spirit. God will not let us go through the things we cannot handle without His grace. There s an invisible, spiritual mark of God s Spirit in us that only He can see. Later, there is a satanic counterfeit of this gracious act. -Revelation 13:16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, I believe that this physical mark is coming. Satan will probably use it to deceive us or to persecute Christians. It doesn t mean that if you receive it, you will lose your salvation. It means that if you are apart from Christ, you will have the mark of your sinful nature. It is only in Jesus Christ that you can be washed by the blood of the Lamb. You either are sealed by the Holy Spirit or receive a fake mark. The question is: Do you have the mark of the seal of the Holy Spirit? Are you a Christian? You are not going to endure the hardships that will come unless you are in Jesus Christ. -Revelation 6:17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand? The point is that no one can stand. The answer is in Revelation 7:9. -Revelation 7:9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, We can stand and overcome because of Jesus. B. We will go through suffering -Revelation 7:14 I said to him, Sir, you know. And he said to me, These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
We will all go through suffering. Our children and grandchildren will probably face more difficulties. God s protection is not necessarily physical protection. Often it is, but not always. Christianity spread through persecuted believers and martyrs. God did not protect them physically because He gave them the strength to go through it, and they pictured their crucified Savior to the world. His protection is not always physical, but it is at least always spiritual. In both Mark 4 and 6, Jesus faces a storm. In Mark 4, He rebukes the storm and removes it. But in Mark 6, He does not remove the storm. He speaks to the disciples and strengthens their faith. Often that s how God works. Sometimes He removes the storm to show His power, but other times, He gives us strength to go through the storm so that He can show Himself through us to the world. We don t know what kind of suffering we will go through, but we know that we must expect it. You re not going to face anything that you will not be able to go through, by the grace of God. Think about the ten plagues. The Israelites did not go through the tenth plague, but they went through nine other ones. When it rains on the nonbelievers, believers getx1 wet too. But one thing was for sure: none of the believing Israelites went through the tenth plague. We don t know what kind of suffering we will go through, but we will be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. In the midst of this, we re going to fail. But when you fail, wash yourself in the blood of the Lamb, and always get up again. He s going to help you to grow so that you can glow for Christ. -Psalm 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. The blood of Jesus Christ will wash us, and therefore, we will overcome. We know how the game ends, but there is a price to be paid. Some of us may face great tribulation in our lives. To prepare for this kind of suffering, we must overcome the little tribulations that we face in our daily lives. We need to deny ourselves, carry the cross, and by His grace, overcome. Learn how to face suffering and be tough. When you face hardships, ask for His grace, and use the suffering to grow. Don t waste suffering. There is judgment on this earth so that we can repent of our sins and get closer to the Lord. Use suffering to get closer to the Lord, just like the wind beneath our wings. We learn how to fly because of the opposing wind of suffering and tribulation in our lives. Use it to get closer to Christ. I will give you three phrases that summarize Christian life. Again and again Whenever you fail, go to Him again and again. When you think you re at rock bottom, look down Jesus Christ is your rock. You always have to get up again and again and again. More and more After you get up, always ask for more grace. There is always more grace available in Jesus Christ.
Forever and ever We can go through anything by His grace. We need to keep on going. C. We are servants of God -Revelation 7:2-3 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads. The word servants in verse 3 is translated to the word doulos, which means bond servant or slave. In the ancient world, faithful slaves were to please their masters with their whole being since their whole body was owned by the master. Likewise, Christians should want to please their Divine Master. Paul uses similar language to talk about our bodies as slaves of righteousness. -Romans 6:16, 19 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. We are either slaves to our sinful nature or slave to our Spirit s nature. Sanctification is separation from sin and separation for God for our glorification and growth in Jesus Christ. Ch. 1 The vision of Jesus Jesus appears to John on the Island of Patmos and tells John to record these things. Ch. 2-3 The earthly churches These first century churches are a reflection of all churches until His coming. Ch. 4-5 The heavenly throne the ascension and coronation of Christ After His death and resurrection, there is the ascension Christ. There, Jesus takes the scroll and opens it one seal at a time to unravel redemptive history. Ch. 6 The beginning of the tribulations released through the breaking of the seals As the seals are opened, suffering comes. Ch. 7 Before [1-8] and after [9-17] the tribulation to assure God s people The first vision in verses 1-8 happens right before Revelation 6. Before the winds of suffering blow, one of the angels says that they need to seal the people in the Holy Spirit. After Revelation 6, in verses 9-17, the tribulation assures God s people to be victorious. By the grace of God, we will overcome these things. We are sealed and
protected, but we will go through suffering. We are servants of God, but we need to continuously grow. D. We are the army of God -Revelation 7:4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: In the Bible, every census is taken for the purpose of war to know the number of people to strategize, fight, and overcome, and Revelation is a book of war. We need to fight our hearts because we are slaves of Christ, but we are also the army of God, fighting for the world and the gospel. We fight in a strange way because we are a strange army. We conquer by persevering in the midst of suffering. We don t make enemies serve us, but we serve our enemies. Instead of killing others, we die for them. This is the army of Jesus Christ. The only way to defeat the world is through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and everything we do is to show the power of the Lamb. Conclusion We studied different pictures of heaven in Revelation 4-5 and Revelation 7. When you compare the two, it s fascinating. In Revelation 4-5, there is an emphasis on the praise of the angels, and heaven is still not fully occupied. There are some people there, but because heaven is kind of empty, the angels are praising. In Revelation 7, the emphasis is on the praise from God s people because heaven is full. In Revelation 4-5, praise starts from the throne of God, and everything comes out of that throne. In Revelation 7, it goes from the outside in, starting with the people of God, to the angels of God, and then to the throne. Why is that? I believe that in Revelation 4-5, the Spirit of God goes out from among the angels and into the world. Then, God uses and empowers us to fight and conquer, and we spread the gospel, and the people s praise goes to God. God empowers us so that all praise and honor goes to Him. That s why there is a difference in Revelation 4-5 and Revelation 7. In Revelation 7, heaven is occupied with God s people praising and worshipping Him, which is where we are headed too. But for now, we are living in the in-between, and He s empowering us today. The Three Musketeers have a saying, One for all, and all for one! One for all, meaning that the king is for all of us, and all for one, meaning that together, we are going to protect and fight for the king. It is the same with the church of Jesus Christ. One for all: Jesus Christ. Through His death and resurrection, we can live by His Spirit. But all of us for One: the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. That s what life is about. We re going to overcome by His grace.